Clamping device



M. HOAG CLAMPING DEVICE May 15, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 18,1946 Inventor CLAMPING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet g Filed Nov. 18, 1946Inventor Patented May 15, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLAMPING DEVICE Melray Hoag, Parkwater, Wash.

Application November 18, 1946, Serial No. 710,615

4 Claims. 1.

This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements and structural.refinements in clamp.- ing devices and the principal object of theinvention is to provide a device of thecharacter herein described, whichmay be conveniently and, effectively employed during the. cutting ofpatches used in the fabrication. of. so-called patch work quilts! Quiltsof this character are usually composed. of aseries of individual piecesor patches Of material, connected together by stitching or other means.These patches. may be square shaped, diamond shaped, or the like, but inorder to assure symmetry and pleasing appearance of the finishedarticle, the patches should be substantially equal in size. Accordingly,apaper-patt'ern is: usually employed during the patch cutting operation,such pattern being: applied to thematerial While the patches arebeingindividually cut.

Asoutlined at the commencement of thisspecification, the instantinvention is particularly adapted for clamping the paper pattern to thematerial and for releasably retaining the, same thereon in such manneras. to facilitate convenient and rapid cutting of the patches.

A further object of the invention is toprovide.

a clamping device in whichthe material and pattern may be readilyapplied and'removed'.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clamping device whichmay be employed in association with materials of different thicknessandfor cutting patches of various sizes and shapes.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a clamping device inwhich the clamping block may assume theconfiguration, of the patches,thereby completely eliminating the use of the paper patternconventionally required.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a clamping devicewhich is simple in construction, convenient in manipulation, and whichwill not easily become damaged.

With the above morerimportant objectsin view,

and such other objects as may become apparent as this specificationproceeds, the. invention consists essentially of the arrangement andconstruction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich-z Figure 1. is a top planview of" the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof, showing the-same in the closedposition;

Figure 3 isaiurther side elevational view, similar toy-that shown in.Figure 2', but showing the invention in the open position;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view, taken sub- 2 stantially in the planeof the line 4-4 in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view, taken substantially in the plane ofthe line 5-5 of Figure Figur 6 is a cross sectional View, taken.substantially in the plane of the line 6-4 in Figure 2, and

Figure 7 is a cross sectional view, taken substanztially in the plane ofthe line '!-1 in Figure Like characters of reference are used todesignate like parts in the specification and throughout the severalviews.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the inventionconsists of a clamping device designated generally by the referencecharacter It), the same embodying in its construction a pair of arms I Iand i2, including the levers I3, I 4 respectively. A pair of side platesl5 are secured. at one end of the lever l4 by suitable screws [6 and oneend portion of the lever I3 is pivot'ally mounted between the sideplates l-5- by means of a suitable bolt IT, as shown in Figure '7;

A leaf spring I8 is secured by suitable screws- Ill to. the lever IS,the spring engaging the ad'- jacent surface of the lever l4, whereby thetwo levers are normally urged apart, as will be clearly understood.Excessive spreading of the levers is prevented by means of a yoke 20,the latter straddling the. two levers and being formed from a suitablewire-like rod. The end portions 21 ofthe yoke 28 rotatably engagesuitable apertures provided in the lever l4 and it will be noted thatthe. yoke also straddles a pad 22 secured to the lever l3.by. a pair ofscrews 23.

An extension 24 is provided adjacent one end thereof with a longitudinalslot 25, and a bolt'2-6, secured in the free end portion of the leverl3- passes through this slot and carries a wing nut A further extension28 is adjustably attachedto thefree end portion of the lever [4 by meansof suitable screws and wing nuts 29 and 3!! respectively, a fulcrum 3|being interposed between the extension 28- andthe lever I4, as willbeclearly understood. The fulcrum 3| may SiIl'l-- ply assume the form ofa short strap secured to the extension 28 by the screws 32, the strapbeing provided with an arcuate mid-portion which engages arecess orgroove 33' formed in the lever The free-endportions. of the extensions24 and 28 are enlarged to form a pair of mutually opposed jaws 34, thesame being provided with opposing arcuate surfaces 35 and each beinglongitudinally slotted as at 36.

The jaws 34 are also provided with axially aligned bores 31, each ofwhich rotatably receives a pin 38. The slots 36 extend through the bores31 and it will be noted that the jaws are also equipped with suitableclamping bolts 39 whereby the pins 38 may be adjustably secured inposition.

Finally, a clamp plate 40 is secured to each of the pins 38,'the plate40 being preferably provided with beveled marginal edges, as will beclearly apparent.

Having thus described the construction of the invention, its method ofoperation will now be explained.

When the invention is placed in use, the plates 40 are spread apart bysimply disengaging the yoke 20 from the pad 22 as shown in Figure 3,thus permitting the spring It to spread the levers l3; 14. The material(not shown) may then be inserted between the plates 40, whereupon thelevers l3, [4 are compressed together so as to clamp the materialbetween the plates. The device is releasably retained in this closed orclampedjposition by simply engaging the yoke 20 with the pad 22' and thepatch may now'be out from the material by following the contour of theplate 40 with 'a suitable cutting instrument. It should, of course, beunderstood thatthe configuration of the plates 40 conforms in size andshape to the patch, and the cutting operation may be effectively carriedout by'simply rotating the plates 40 and the pins 38 inthe bores s'l'ofthe jaws 34. v Sincethe mutual spacing of the plates 40 is predeterminedand governed by the yoke 20 and pad 22, means are provided for varyingthis spacing so that material of different thickness maybe placedbetween the two plates. Said means includes the'aforementioned fulcrum3| and the wing nuts 30, the loosening of one wing nut and acorresponding tightening of the other swinging the extension 28 aboutthe fulcrum 3| in one direction, and vice versa. It will be apparentthat in this manner, the relative spacing of the plates 40' may bevaried as required and furthermore, by loosening the wing nut 27 andsliding the extension 24 with'respect to the lever I3, the extension 24may be adjusted with respect to the extension 28 so that the plates 40are aligned.

Loosening of the wing nut 21 will also permit the extension 24 to beswung laterally (in the di-' rection of the arrows 4|), therebyfacilitating removal of the pins 38 and the associated plates 40' fromthe jaws 34.

ious shapes and sizes may be employed in asso l ciation with the devicefor the cutting of various In this manner, plates of varly sized andshaped patches. The clamping screws 39 are provided merely for theadjust-1 ment of the jaws 34, so that the pins 38 are rotatably yetfirmly mounted in the bores 37;

Finally, the provision of the arcuate surfaces 35 on the jaws 34facilitates what may be referred to as a rocking contact of the jawswiththeplates 40, assuring that equal and unre strainedpressure isapplied to the clamping plates. a

. -It is believed thatthe advantages and use of the invention will beclearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly,further de-' scription' thereof at this point is considered unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changesin the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as claimed.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A clamping device comprising in combination, a pair of leverspivotally connected together at one end thereof, an extension adjustablymounted at the remaining end of each of said levers, a pair of mutuallyopposed, arcuate jaws provided on said extensions, a pair of axiallyaligned pins each rotatably mounted in one of said jaws, a pair ofmutually opposed clamp blocks each secured to one of said pins andengaging the associated jaw, the adjustment of one of said extensionsvarying the spacing of said blocks, resilient means. for urging saidlevers apart, and further means for releasably clamping said leverstogether. I 2. A clamping device comprising in combination, a pair oflevers pivotally connected together atone end thereof, a longitudinallyadjustable extension provided at the remaining end of one of saidlevers, a further extension fulcrumed upon the remaining lever, the freeend portions of said extensions forming mutually opposed, arcuate jaws,a pair of axially aligned pins each rotatably mounted in one'of .saidjaws, a'p'air' of mutually opposed clamp blocks each secured to one ofsaid pins and engaging the associated jaw, means for adjusting thefulcrumed extension whereby the spacing of said blocks may be varied, aspring interposed between said levers, a

pad provided on one of said'levers, and a clamp-' ing yoke pivoted tothe remaining lever, said yoke being engageable with said pad.

3. The device as defined in claim 2 wherein said means for adjustingsaid fulcrumed exten sion comprise a strap having an arcuateintermediate portion constituting a fulcrum member, end portions of saidstrap being secured to said fulcrumed extension, the lever carrying saidfulcrumed extension being formed with a transverse groove rockablyreceiving said fulcrum MELRAY HOAG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Date I Name 113,093 Reding Mar. 28, 1871322,070 Rutan July 14, 1885 556,239 Ashald et a1. Mar. 10, 1896 789,180Spruce May 9, 1905 1,262,300 Blake Apr. 9, 1918 1,428,679 Caswell Sept.12, 1922 1,897,142 Peterson Feb. 14, 1933

